Freestanding Ammonium Vanadate Composite Cathodes with Lattice Self-Regulation and Ion Exchange for Long-Lasting Ca-Ion Batteries.

Calcium-ion batteries (CIBs) have emerged as a promising alternative for electrochemical energy storage. The lack of high-performance cathode materials severely limits the development of CIBs. Vanadium oxides are particularly attractive as cathode materials for CIBs, and preinsertion chemistry is often used to improve their calcium storage performance. However, the room temperature cycling lifespan of vanadium oxides in organic electrolytes still falls short of 1000 cycles. Here, based on preinsertion chemistry, the cycling life of vanadium oxides is further improved by integrated electrode and electrolyte engineering. Utilizing a tailored Ca electrolyte, the constructed freestanding (NH4)2V6O16·1.35H2O@graphene oxide@carbon nanotube (NHVO-H@GO@CNT) composite cathode achieves a 305 mAh g-1 high capacity and 10 000 cycles record-long life. Additionally, for the first time, a Ca-ion hybrid capacitor full cell is assembled and delivers a capacity of 62.8 mAh g-1. The calcium storage mechanism of NHVO-H@GO@CNT based on a two-phase reaction and the exchange of NH4 + and Ca2+ during cycling are revealed. The lattice self-regulation of V─O layers is observed and the layered vanadium oxides with Ca2+ pillars formed by ion exchange exhibit higher capacity. This work provides novel strategies to enhance the calcium storage performance of vanadium oxides via integrated structural design of electrodes and electrolyte modification.

Transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions: Current devices and clinical evidence.

The tricuspid valve is known as "the forgotten valve". Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is a highly prevalent valvular heart disease. TR is often late in the course of the disease when it becomes symptomatic, often being a marker of late-stage chronic heart failure with a poor prognosis and high mortality rate at long-term follow-up. Despite the clear correlation between TR and mortality, most TR patients are under-treated. Neither pharmacologic nor surgical treatment demonstrates a significant survival benefit. Isolated tricuspid valve surgery has the highest mortality rate of all valve surgeries. Therefore, there is an urgent clinical need for minimally invasive therapies to meet the needs of patients with TR. In recent years, a variety of transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions representing less invasive alternatives to surgery have shown promising results, which bring hope to patients with severe TR. The purpose of this review is to provide a complete and updated overview on current transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions and clinical evidence.

Short-Chain Sulfur Confined into Nitrogen-Doped Hollow Carbon Nanospheres for High-Capacity Potassium Storage.

Carbon-based materials are one of the ideal negative electrode materials for potassium ion batteries. However, the limited active sites and sluggish diffusion ion kinetics still hinder its commercialization process. To address these problems, we design a novel carbon composite anode, by confining highly reactive short-chain sulfur molecules into nitrogen-doped hollow carbon nanospheres (termed SHC-450). The formation process involves the controlled synthesis of hollow polyaniline (PANI) nanospheres as precursors via an Ostwald ripening mechanism and subsequent sulfuration treatment. The high content of constrained short-chain sulfur molecules (20.94 wt%) and considerable N (7.15 wt%) ensure sufficient active sites for K+ storage in SHC-450. Accordingly, the SHC-450 electrode exhibits a high reversible capacity of 472.05 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 and good rate capability (172 mAh g-1 at 2 A g-1). Thermogravimetric analysis shows that SHC-450 has impressive thermal stability to withstand a high temperature of up to 640 °C. Ex situ spectroscopic characterizations reveal that the short-chain sulfur provides high capacity through reversible formation of K2S. Moreover, its special hollow structure not only provides ample space for highly active short-chain sulfur reactants but also effectively mitigates volume expansion during the sulfur conversion process. This work offers new perspectives on enhanced K+ storage performance from an interesting anode design and the space-limited domain principle.

K3 v2 (Po4 )3 /C as a New High-Voltage Cathode Material for Calcium-Ion Batteries with a Water-In-Salt Electrolyte.

Aqueous Ca-ion batteries (ACIBs) attract immense attention due to its high safety and the high abundance of calcium. However, the development of ACIBs is hindered by the lack of high voltage cathode materials to host the large radius and divalent Ca2+ . Herein, polyanionic phosphate K3 V2 (PO4 )3 /C (KVP/C) is provided as a new cathode material for ACIBs. Due to the robust structure of polyanion material and the wide electrochemical window of water-in-salt electrolyte, KVP/C delivers a high working voltage of 3.74 V versus Ca2+ /Ca with a specific capacity of 102.4 mAh g-1 and a long-life of 6000 cycles at 500 mA g-1 . Furthermore, the calcium storage mechanism of KVP/C is shown to be the coexistence of solid solution and two-phase reaction by in situ X-ray diffraction, ex situ transmission electron microscope, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Finally, an aqueous calcium-ion full cell, based on an organic compound as anode and KVP/C as cathode, is constructed and it shows good stability for 200 cycles and a specific capacity of 80.2 mAh g-1 . This work demonstrates that vanadium-based phosphate materials are promising high-voltage cathode materials for ACIBs and renew the prospects for ACIBs.

Aromatic Organic Small-Molecule Material with (020) Crystal Plane Activation for Wide-Temperature and 68000 Cycle Aqueous Calcium-Ion Batteries.

Calcium-ion batteries are an emerging energy storage device owing to the low redox potential of Ca2+/Ca and the naturally abundant reserves of the Ca element. However, the high charge density and large radius of Ca2+ lead to a low calcium storage capacity or unsatisfactory cycling performance for most electrode materials. Herein, we report the organic crystal 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI) as an anode material for aqueous calcium-ion batteries (ACIBs) in a water-in-salt electrolyte. PTCDI delivers a high discharge capacity of 131.8 mAh g-1, excellent rate performance (86.2 mAh g-1@10000 mA g-1), and an ultralong life of 68000 cycles (over 470 days) with a high capacity retention of 72.7%. The calcium storage mechanism of PTCDI is shown to be an enolization reaction by in situ attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared and ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The activation mechanism of PTCDI microribbon splitting along the (020) crystal plane is studied by in situ X-ray diffraction, 3D tomography reconstruction technologies, and ex situ transmission electron microscopy. In addition, the Ca2+ storage sites and diffusion pathways of PTCDI are studied by density functional theory calculations. Finally, by matching a high-voltage Prussian blue analogue cathode, the assembled aqueous calcium-ion full cells exhibit excellent wide-temperature operating capability (-20 to +50 °C) and an ultralong life of 30000 cycles. Further, an aqueous calcium-ion pouch cell is constructed and exhibits a long lifetime of over 500 cycles.

Improvement of delivery properties of soybean 7S protein by high-pressure homogenization: In the case of curcumin.

In this study, curcumin@high-pressure homogenization-soybean 7S protein/nanoparticles (CUR@HPH-7S-NPs) were prepared by an anti-solvent method. The physicochemical properties results showed at a CUR concentration of 4 mg/mL, CUR@HPH-7S-NPs had better size, encapsulation efficiency (EE), and zeta-potential values of 151.9 nm, 88.80 %, and -23.1 mV, respectively. Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) and endogenous fluorescence spectroscopy results indicated CUR bound to HPH-7S through hydrophobic interactions, and the force between HPH-7S and CUR molecules was greater than that between untreated 7S protein and CUR. Furthermore, the pH stability results showed the size of CUR@HPH-7S-NPs was barely affected by pH away from adjacent area of the isoelectric point of 7S protein. The physical thermal stability and bio-accessibility results suggested that HPH-7S was more effective in delaying the degradation, had more physical thermal stability, and had a significant improvement in the bio-accessibility of CUR than that of untreated 7S protein. What's more, the antioxidant activity results showed at a CUR equivalent concentration of 40 µg/mL, the DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity of CUR@HPH-7S-NPs was 85.10 % and 96.64 %, respectively, both of which were significantly higher than that of free CUR. Finally, this study aimed to provide a theoretical basis for the delivery of other hydrophobic bioactive substances.

Decreased expression of RPL15 and RPL18 exacerbated the calcification of valve interstitial cells during aortic valve calcification.

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is the most common valvular heart disease, with an increasing prevalence due to an aging population. The pathobiology of CAVD is a multifaceted and actively regulated process, but the detailed mechanisms have not been elucidated. The present study aims to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in calcified aortic valve tissues, and to analyze the correlation between DEGs and clinical features in CAVD patients. The DEGs were screened by microarray in normal and CAVD groups (n = 2 for each group), and confirmed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in normal (n = 12) and calcified aortic valve tissues (n = 34). A total of 1048 DEGs were identified in calcified aortic valve tissues, including 227 upregulated mRNAs and 821 downregulated mRNAs. Based on multiple bioinformatic analyses, three 60S ribosomal subunit components (RPL15, RPL18, and RPL18A), and two 40S ribosomal subunit components (RPS15 and RPS21) were identified as the top 5 hub genes in the protein-protein interaction network of DEGs. The expression of RPL15 and RPL18 was also found significantly decreased in calcified aortic valve tissues (both p < .01), and negatively correlated with the osteogenic differentiation marker OPN in CAVD patients (both p < .01). Moreover, inhibition of RPL15 or RPL18 exacerbated the calcification of valve interstitial cells under osteogenic induction conditions. The present study proved that decreased expression of RPL15 and RPL18 was closely associated with aortic valve calcification, which provided valuable clues to find therapeutic targets for CAVD.

Highly Crystalline Prussian Blue for Kinetics Enhanced Potassium Storage.

Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) are promising cathode materials for potassium-ion batteries (KIBs) owing to their large open framework structure. As the K+ migration rate and storage sites rely highly on the periodic lattice arrangement, it is rather important to guarantee the high crystallinity of PBAs. Herein, highly crystalline K2 Fe[Fe(CN)6 ] (KFeHCF-E) is synthesized by coprecipitation, adopting the ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid dipotassium salt as a chelating agent. As a result, an excellent rate capability and ultra-long lifespan (5000 cycles at 100 mA g-1 with 61.3% capacity maintenance) are achieved when tested in KIBs. The highest K+ migration rate of 10-9 cm2 s-1 in the bulk phase is determined by the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique. Remarkably, the robust lattice structure and reversible solid-phase K+ storage mechanism of KFeHCF-E are proved by in situ XRD. This work offers a simple crystallinity optimization method for developing high-performance PBAs cathode materials in advanced KIBs.

Graphite-Based Composite Anodes with C-O-Nb Heterointerfaces Enable Fast Lithium Storage.

To better satisfy the increasing demands for electric vehicles, it is crucial to develop fast-charging lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the fast-charging capability of commercial graphite anodes is limited by the sluggish Li+ insertion kinetics. Herein, we report a synergistic engineering of uniform nano-sized T-Nb2 O5 particles on graphite (Gr@Nb2 O5 ) with C-O-Nb heterointerfaces, which prevents the growth and aggregation of T-Nb2 O5 nanoparticles. Through detailed theoretical calculations and pair distribution function analysis, the stable existence of the heterointerfaces is proved, which can accelerate the electron/ion transport. These heterointerfaces endow Gr@Nb2 O5 anodes with high ionic conductivity and excellent structural stability. Consequently, Gr@10-Nb2 O5 anode, where the mass ratio of T-Nb2 O5 /graphite=10/100, exhibits excellent cyclic stability and incredible rate capabilities, with 100.5 mAh g-1 after 10000 stable cycles at an ultrahigh rate of 20 C. In addition, the synergistic Li+ storage mechanism is revealed by systematic electrochemical characterizations and in situ X-ray diffraction. This work offers new insights to the reasonable design of fast-charging graphite-based anodes for the next generation of LIBs.

Impact of transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement for tricuspid regurgitation on hepatic, cardiac, and venous structure.

BACKGROUND: Patients with long-term tricuspid regurgitation (TR) are mostly accompanied by hepatic, cardiac, and venous remodeling. Transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement (TTVR) device has emerged as a promising alternative to open-heart surgery for TR patients. No study has assessed the impact of TTVR on hepatic, cardiac, and venous remodeling. METHODS: Twenty-two patients with TR enrolled in this study underwent TTVR between October 2020 and January 2021. Liver, heart, and veins were reconstructed by three-dimensional computed tomography reconstruction software at baseline and 6 months follow-up. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients were enrolled in this study. The mean age was 64.8 ± 8.2 years, and all patients had severe or greater TR with multiple comorbidities. The left hepatic lobe volume decreased from 518.8 ± 171.9 ml to 470.4 ± 179.6 ml at 6 months during follow-up (p = 0.049). Evidence of a decrease in three hepatic veins parameters and splenic vein parameters was noted from baseline to 6 months. And a significant decrease in right atrial volume (317.5 ml [interquartile range: 216.1 to 497.3 ml] vs. 266.7 ml [interquartile range: 178.7 to 480.7 ml]; p = 0.003) were observed in the study. CONCLUSIONS: Six-month outcomes show that TR elimination by LuX-Valve is associated with the reverse remodeling of liver, heart, and veins. Accordingly, LuX-Valve is a promising alternative for patients presenting with severe TR.

Transjugular Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Implantation of LuX-Valve Bioprosthesis in a Preclinical Model.

The purpose of this preclinical study in a sheep model was to confirm the feasibility and safety of the LuX-Valve transjugular tricuspid valve (TV) replacement apparatus and to optimize the implantation procedure before beginning first-in-man study. The LuX-Valve was implanted in a sheep model (n = 8) via transjugular approach. Six of eight sheep underwent successful implantation procedure on beating heart. The first two sheep died during the prostheses deployment. In the remaining 6 sheep that survived, postoperative echocardiography results showed there was no paravalvular leakage (PVL) and central tricuspid regurgitation in 5 animals, whereas 1 animal had mild PVL. The mean transvalvular gradient was 1.1 ± 0.9 mm Hg at the 4-week follow-up. No right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) obstruction, device malposition, pericardial effusion, coronary artery compression, or arrhythmias were observed. This technology may be a promising alternative for TR patients who are at high risk for open-heart surgery. Transjugular tricuspid valved-stent implantation. a Transjugular tricuspid valve replacement in a sheep model. b and c Valved stent. d, e, and f Schematic depiction of the implantation procedure.

Pulmonary and tricuspid regurgitation after Tetralogy of Fallot repair: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is one of the most common congenital heart defects, and surgery is the primary treatment. There are no precise guidelines on the treatment protocol for tricuspid regurgitation (TR) as a common complication of TOF repair. The timing for treatment in patients presenting with valve regurgitation after TOF repair is often difficult to determine. Here, we report the first case of sequential treatment of pulmonary and TR using interventional therapy. CASE SUMMARY: We present the case of a 52-year-old female patient, who had a history of TOF repair at a young age. A few years later, the patient presented with pulmonary and tricuspid regurgitation. The symptoms persisted and TR worsened following percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation. Preoperative testing revealed that the patient's disease had advanced to an intermediate to advanced stage and that her general health was precarious. Because open-heart surgery was not an option for the patient, transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement was suggested. This procedure was successful, and the patient recovered fully without any adverse effects. This case report may serve as a useful resource for planning future treatments. CONCLUSION: Treatment of both valves should be considered in patients with tricuspid and pulmonary regurgitations following TOF repair. The interventional strategy could be an alternative for patients with poor general health.

4-Year Follow-Up after Transatrial Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Replacement with the LuX-Valve.

Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) has become one of the most common valve diseases. Patients with severe TR are often at high surgical mortality risk. Transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions have emerged as a promising alternative to open-heart surgery. The LuX-Valve is a novel radial force-independent transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement system. We presented here the first patient treated for symptomatic TR using the LuX-Valve replacement system in September 2018. Four-year follow-up outcomes suggested that the bioprosthesis was in normal function, with stable hemodynamics (mean transtricuspid gradient 2.55 mmHg) and the patient's clinical symptoms were significantly improved; thus indicating that it is a safe, effective, and satisfactory case of the LuX-Valve application in treating a patient with severe TR.

Transapical Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation for Aortic Regurgitation in Takayasu Arteritis.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has become a popular treatment for surgical high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS). Recently, we have applied TAVI to the treatment of aortic regurgitation (AR). Compared with conventional surgical procedures, TAVI is less invasive and considered a useful option for these high-risk patients. In this study, we reported a patient who underwent transapical TAVI. The patient was a 52-year-old female with Takayasu arteritis (TA) for 25 years, as well as with severe aortic regurgitation, porcelain aortas, and heart failure. Transapical TAVI successfully was accomplished without neurological complications, and heart failure immediately improved postoperatively.

Amine-Wetting-Enabled Dendrite-Free Potassium Metal Anode.

Considered as an imperative alternative to the commercial LiFePO4 battery, the potassium metal battery possesses great potential in grid-scale energy storage systems due to the low cost, low standard redox potential, and high abundance of potassium. The potassium dendrite growth, large volume change, and unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the potassium metal anode have, however, hindered its applications. Although conductive scaffolds coupling with potassium metal have been widely proposed to address the above issues, it remains challenging to fabricate a uniform composite with uncompromised capacity. Herein, we propose a facile and efficient strategy to construct dendrite-free and practical carbon-based potassium composite anodes via amine functionalization of the carbon scaffolds that enables fast molten potassium infusion within several seconds. On the basis of experiments and theoretical calculations, we show that highly potassiophilic amine groups immediately transform carbon scaffolds from nonwetting to wetting to postassium. Our carbon-cloth-based potassium composite anode (K@CC) can accommodate volume fluctuation, provide abundant nucleation sites, and lower the local current density, achieving nondendritic morphology with a stable SEI. The fabricated K0.7Mn0.7Ni0.3O2|K@CC full cell displays excellent rate capability and an ultralong lifespan over 8000 cycles (68.5% retention) at a high current of 1 A g-1.

Comparison of functional outcome scales in paediatric acute encephalitis: Responsiveness and outcome predictors.

PURPOSE: To compare scoring systems and their ability to capture short and long-term recovery of paediatric patients with acute encephalitis. To identify clinical predictors of short-term outcomes by correlating functional outcome measures at 1 month post diagnosis of acute encephalitis. METHODS: Patients with encephalitis diagnosed between July 2011 and 2016 based on Granerod's criteria were studied in this retrospective cohort study. Functional outcome scores on WeeFIM, LOS, GOS-E, mRS and ICF at initial presentation and 1, 3, 6 and 12 months later were compared. RESULTS: WeeFIM and LOS scores both showed maximum change in the first 3 months, reflecting highest recovery in this period. With WeeFIM, the greatest change occurred within the first month following diagnosis. On univariate analysis, seizure frequency in the first month, presence of movement disorder, presence of autonomic dysfunction and lower baseline functional score was associated with poorer WeeFIM scores at 1 month. The latter three variables remained statistically significant on multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: WeeFIM is a potentially preferred functional outcome assessment tool as it demonstrated greatest recovery within the first month due to a trend of high responsiveness and relatively low ceiling effect. Presence of autonomic dysfunction and movement disorders at diagnosis correlated with poorer outcome at 1 month post diagnosis.

Preoperative 6-minute walk test predicts prolonged hospitalization after transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether preoperative 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is associated with prolonged postoperative hospitalization in high risk patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) after transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement (TTVR). Forty-one patients with severe TR who underwent TTVR and discharged between September 2018 and April 2021 were enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to whether the postoperative hospital stay was >10 days and patients' data were retrospectively collected. 6MWT was performed before operation. Twenty-one patients were in the control group (≤10 days) and 20 patients were in the prolonged postoperative stay (PPS) group (>10 days). 6MWT distance was significantly decreased in PPS group (192.70 ±â€…62.34 vs 274.57 ±â€…52.09 m, P < .05). PPS group had more patients with severe liver disease (50.00% vs 19.05%, P < .05), higher systolic pulmonary artery pressure (45.05 ±â€…9.28 vs 35.57 ±â€…8.91 mm Hg, P < .05) and longer procedure time (159.85 ±â€…56.61 vs 124.43 ±â€…31.67 min, P < .05). Multivariable logistic regression analysis found 6MWT <267 m was an independent risk factor with the odds ratio of 10.95 (1.66-72.39, P < .05) for prolonged postoperative hospitalization in patients who received TTVR. In the present study, we identified that preoperative decreased 6MWT distance was an independent risk factor for prolonged hospitalization in high risk TR patients after TTVR.

Swim bladder as an alternative biomaterial for bioprosthetic valves.

Valvular structural deterioration and calcification are the main indications for secondary intervention after bioprosthetic valve replacement, promoting an urgent requirement for more durable cardiovascular biomaterials for clinical applications. The swim bladder of carp we introduced in this study has several advantages as a raw biomaterial when compared to the bovine pericardium. First, the results of in vitro assays demonstrated that the cross-linked carp swim bladder exhibited superior biocompatibility compared to the bovine pericardium, and the anti-calcification property was verified by subcutaneous implantation experiments in rats. Furthermore, the cross-linked swim bladder tissue was sutured on a cobalt-chromium alloy stent to fabricate a pulmonary bioprosthetic valve, and then the feasibility and durability of the bioprosthetic valve were proved by a fatigue test in vitro. Finally, a sheep pulmonary bioprosthetic valve replacement in situ experiment further confirmed the superior calcification resistance, immune-compatibility, endothelialization, and hemodynamic properties of the swim bladder, suggesting that it might be used as an alternative biomaterial for bioprosthetic valves.